Dhaka, Feb 13 (UNB) - A discussion titled ‘Mrinal Sen, Amjad Hossain and Anwar Hossain: Tribute’ will be held at Bangla Academy premises on Thursday.

The discussion will be organised as part of the month-long series programme on the occasion of Amar Ekushey Book Fair at 4 pm followed by a cultural event.

Film critic Sajedul Awal will present the keynote speech on them while prominent personality Hasan Imam will preside over the programme.

Cultural personality M Hamid, researcher Tapan Bagchi and Bidhan Riberu will also discuss about the three artists and their works.

People still remember the trio for their brilliant and dedicated contribution to their respective fields.

Mrinal Sen who was born on 14 May 1923 was a Bengali filmmaker based in Kolkata. Along with his contemporaries Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, he was often considered to be one of the greatest ambassadors of Bengali parallel cinema on the global stage.

The filmmaker died on 30 December in the last year.

Amjad Hossain who died on 14 December 2018 was a film director, actor, scriptwriter and lyricist. He won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director twice, for the films Golapi Ekhon Traine (1978) and Bhat De (1984).

Prominent photographer Anwar Hossain who was born on October 6, 1948 graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) with a degree in architecture and completed his higher education in film studies at Pune University.

Since starting his career as a photographer in 1967, Anwar Hossain had solidified his legacy as one of Bangladesh's all-time greats in the field with 5 national awards and more than 60 international awards.

Beijing, Feb 13 (AP/UNB) — The latest film from famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou has been dropped from the Berlin film festival for what the festival described as technical reasons.

A notice on the official Weibo microblogging service account for the movie "One Second" apologized but gave no details other than to say it was not possible to show the film at Berlin.

The festival said the film was pulled because of "technical difficulties encountered during post-production." It said the movie would be replaced at its scheduled Friday and Saturday showings with Zhang's action epic "Hero," which premiered in 2002 at the Great Hall of the People, the seat of China's legislature in the heart of Beijing.

Possibly China's best-known filmmaker, Zhang has oscillated between big-budget extravaganzas favored by the ruling Communist Party and edgier fare touching on sensitive political and social topics.

"One Second" is set amid the chaos and violence unleashed by Mao Zedong during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, a period rarely discussed in history books or portrayed on film.

The party is hyper-sensitive to all direct or implied criticism and its control over the arts includes deciding what films are released based on largely secret criteria. Regulators routinely order what can and can't be shown, with special scrutiny for content pertaining to sex, criminal activity, social dislocation, and perceived questioning of the authority or reputation of the party.

Another Chinese film had also been pulled for Berlin for similar reasons. "Better Days," which portrays alienated youth was "withdrawn for censorship reasons," the trade magazine Variety reported, citing unidentified sources.

Dhaka, Feb 12 (UNB)— The five-day screening of Iranian films and exhibition of photos in the city ended on Tuesday.

Iranian Cultural Centre, Dhaka and Bangladesh National Museum jointly organised the film screening at the main auditorium of the museum from Feb 8.

It was organised marking the 40th anniversary of the Islamic revolution (National Day).    

Two films were screened at 11am and 3pm on the final day. Nine films were screened during the festival which drew big crowds of movie lovers.

The inaugural session was held at the main auditorium of the National Museum. Mohammad Reza Nafar, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Bangladesh and Touqir Ahmed, eminent actor and film director, were present as special guests.

A discussion programme titled ‘40 years of Islamic Revolution in Iran Achievement and Potentials’ was held as part of the programme. State Minister for Health and Family Planning Md Murad Hasan was present as the chief guest.

Executive Director of Amadersomoy.com Rashidul Islam delivered the keynote speech.

Acting Cultural Counsellor of Iran Cultural Centre Dr Seyed Mahdi Hosseini delivered the welcome speech while Bangladesh National Museum Secretary Abdul Mazid presided over the session.

Dhaka, Feb 12 (UNB) - Late singer Bhupen Hazarika’s only son, Tej Hazarika, who lives in USA, has said that they won’t accept Bharat Ratna award conferred on his father in the backdrop of the situation arisen out of Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Tej Hazarika has issued a statement in this regard from the United States and alleged that his father’s name has been politically used in the ongoing Citizenship Amendment Bill controversy, reports the Hindustan Times.

Legendary singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika was posthumously honoured with the highest civilian award 'Bharat Ratna' this Republic Day along with former President Pranab Mukherjee and late social activist Nanaji Deshmukh.

Earlier, in an e-mailed statement issued by Tez Hazarika, reacting to his father being conferred the country's highest civilian award, quoted: "In his songs he celebrated the richness of indigenous people not only of the Northeast but all of India and he advocated their inclusion in the Indian experience as essential to the success of Indian civilisation as a whole.”

Pasadena, Feb 12 (AP/UNB) — Nearly 20 million people watched Childish Gambino and Kacey Musgraves earn four trophies each at the Grammy Awards, about the same audience as the annual music show had last year.

The Nielsen company on Monday estimated the Grammy audience size at 19.9 million. The 2018 audience of 19.8 million had been the Grammys' smallest audience in a decade.

Alicia Keys hosted the awards show, which last nearly four hours.

The night had some strong performances, particularly by women. Cardi B, Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monae and Musgraves all had memorable turns onstage, with Dolly Parton and Diana Ross participating in their own crowd-pleasing tributes.

Still, the night had its share of bad vibes. Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar declined invitations to attend, and Ariana Grande pulled out following a dispute with producers. The Grammys also cut short the acceptance speeches of several Grammy winners, including Drake and Musgraves.

The Grammys at least stopped the steep audience erosion evident last year. The 2017 telecast was seen by 26.1 million people, with the show generally getting an audience of between 20 and 30 million the last decade.

CBS said that according to the media analytics firm Netbase, the Grammys drove more social media conversation than any awards show over the past two years.